State, local and federal government agencies or their authorized agents are responsible for collecting, storing, and authenticating vital record events including birth, adoption, marriage, divorce and death and subsequently providing certified copies of such information to external parties who then rely on such printed information certified to be a true copy or extract of original life documents to authorize services and benefits to individuals. Authenticated, certified documents and extracts of information printed on certified copies was historically provided and certified as authentic by combining a corporate seal on a document with various types of watermark, barcodes or other supposed anti counterfeit paper printing processes designed to circumvent third parties from printing documents which could be perceived as authentic when such legal documents are presented as the basis for granting services or benefits to an individual.
As one prior art example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,416 discloses an authentication system for identification documents. However, the prior art does not anticipate or suggest an original storing of a unique serial number with the documents that can be used to identify which trusted authenticating agency created the document and the data on the document, or develop automated processes which utilize the serial number as a way of authenticating the document and related data. Further, the process does not vision the birth registration process to include and authenticate unique identity data such as DNA or biometrics as part of the birth registration record, which may be subsequently associated with the birth registration record through the RFID tag as hidden data either stored in the tag or on the network. Such digital identity data may be used by the individual to validate they are who they say they are in subsequent business transactions. Further, the process does not envision the use of a unique serial number on a document to facilitate the development of business processes which can use the serial number to validate the authenticity of the document and associate data related with the documents, i.e., update identify information with subsequent transactions recording of life events which impact such identity information, or find out if the authenticated information provided by the authenticating agency has been revoked. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,416 neither anticipates nor suggests employing a serial number referring back to a database for validation and authentication of documents and data. A search of known patents covering RFID show none relevant to the development of a unique serial number stored within the RFID which can be used to eliminate the counterfeiting of life event documents such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses or divorce or the use of adding and authenticating digital data with the birth registration record which can be embedded and hidden within the IC chip for transactions that can authenticate the owner of the document when applying for services, benefits or monetary payments.
For instance, United States Patent Application Serial Number 2001/0048756 (“application 8756”) discusses the use of DNA as a means of identifying newborns and using such information to verify the relationship of the mother and the child and as a means for future identification of a child. However, application 8756 does not include nor anticipate the association of the DNA with the individual birth registration process and the subsequent distribution of such authenticated identity data by a state registrar when printing a certified copy of a birth certificate.
United States Patent Application Serial Number 2002/005744, entitled RFID Tag for Authentication and Identification, neither discloses nor anticipates the use of the RFID tag to presenting rights similar to a corporate seal whereas the present invention provides a structure of an RFID tag that can identify authenticating agency that (1) created the corporate seal and/or (2) attests the data on the document is authentic. Furthermore, United States Patent Application Serial Number 2002/005744 does not envision the use of an Electronic Product Code, to access related data on a network based upon a unique serial number embedded into the document. Nor does application 5744 refer to the ability of the authenticating agency to include “hidden” personal identity data as part of the RFID tag to be used to assure the bearer of a certified document is the owner of the document, as is included within the present invention. Application. 5744 purports to authenticate the recipient of a document, but does not disclose nor anticipate any processes whereby the RFID tag may be used to authenticate the entity that created the document and a means to authenticate the document is not a counterfeit document, as is included within embodiments of the method of the present invention.
The existing federal standards defined for states to collect and store birth, death and other vital record events do not reference the recording and storing of unique identity data such as DNA or biometrics with authenticated birth records which can subsequently be provided as authenticated information about an individual by the state or local government agency preserving such birth records.
Automatic identification (“Auto-ID”) technology is used to help machines identify objects and capture data automatically. One of the earliest Auto-ID technologies was the bar code, which uses an alternating series of thin and wide bands that can be digitally interpreted by an optical scanner. This technology gained widespread adoption and near-universal acceptance with the designation of the Universal Product Code (“UPC”)—a standard governed by an industry-wide consortium called the Uniform Code Council. Formally adopted in 1973, the UPC is one of the most ubiquitous symbols present on virtually all manufactured goods today and has allowed for enormous efficiency in the tracking of goods through the manufacturing, supply, and distribution of various goods.
However, the bar code still requires manual interrogation by a human operator to scan each tagged object individually with a scanner. This is a line-of-sight process that has inherent limitations in speed and reliability. In addition, the UPC bar codes only allow for manufacturer and product type information to be encoded into the barcode, not the unique item's serial number. The bar code on one milk carton is the same as every other, making it hard to count objects or individually check expiration dates.
Currently cartons are marked with barcode labels. These printed labels have over 40 “standard” layouts, and can be mis-printed, smeared, mis-positioned and mis-labeled. In transit, these outer labels are often damaged or lost. Upon receipt, the pallets typically have to be broken-down and each case scanned into an enterprise system. Error rates at each point in the supply chain have been 4-18% thus creating a billion dollar inventory visibility problem. Only with RFID does the physical layer of actual goods automatically tie into software applications, to provide accurate tracking. Also, none of the information of these barcodes is protected or “hidden” from unauthorized readers, making counterfeiting and fraud easy and raising concerns about the loss of privacy.
The emerging RFID technology employs a radio frequency (“RF”) wireless link and ultra-small embedded computer chips, to overcome these barcode limitations. RFID technology allows physical objects to be identified and tracked via these wireless RFID tags, or “tags”. An RFID tag may function like a bar code that communicates to a reader automatically without needing manual line-of-sight scanning or singulation of the objects. Applied RFID technology promises to radically transform the retail, pharmaceutical, military, and transportation industries, as well as many product or document distribution methods.
An RFID system begins with a reader sending out electromagnetic signals to find a tag. When the radio wave hits the tag and the tag recognizes the reader's signal, the reader decodes the data programmed into the tag. The information is then passed to a server for processing. By tagging a variety of items, information about the nature and location of goods can be known instantly and automatically.
An RFID system may consist of two primary components, an RFID tag (“tag”) and a “tag reader”. The tag typically includes an IC chip and an antenna. The IC chip may include a digital decoder needed to execute the computer commands that the tag receives from the tag reader. The IC chip also includes a power supply circuit to extract and regulate power from the RF reader; a detector to decode signals from the reader; a transmitter to send data back to the reader; anti-collision protocol circuits; and at least enough EEPROM or “durable” memory to store its EPC code.
Certain prior art RFID systems use reflected or “backscattered” radio frequency (RF) waves to transmit information from the tag to the reader. Since passive (Class-1 and Class-2) tags get all of their power from the reader signal, the tags are only powered when in the beam of the reader.
Semi-passive and active tags have a battery to provide power to the chip. This greatly increases read range, and the reliability of tag reads, because the tag doesn't need power from the reader. Class-3 tags only need a 10 mV signal from the reader in comparison to the 500 mV that a Class-1 tag needs to operate. This 2,500:1 reduction in power requirement permits Class-3 tags to operate out to a distance of 100 meters or more compared with a Class-1 range of only about 3 meters.
In 2003, the worldwide total RFID market size was $1.5B in 2002 and has been growing rapidly. The total RFID market will grow to $7.25B by the year 2008. More detailed information about EPC codes and RFID technology is readily available in various public reports published by MIT, in various commercial publications like the RFID Journal, and on many websites including the “EPCglobal” website.
No prior art processes are known for use or anticipate intelligent RFID tags for use in storing an Electronic Product Code, or EPC, for the purpose of uniquely identifying an original, copy, instantiation or instance of a legal document and the authenticating entity who issued the document. No prior art process exist wherein one or more authenticating agencies embed or attach RFID tags uniquely identifying a document and the data in the document whereby such unique Electronic Product Code enables third parties to validate the document is authentic and the data referenced on the document is authentic. The present invention optionally provides an Electronic Product Code schema to uniquely identify the entity creating the document, the unique instance of each document, the data related to each unique instance of a document, and a process uniting other parties involved in a document workflow when such third party automated processes utilize the Electronic Product Code stored in the tag to read, write and store data stored in the tag or available on a network. The net effect of the invention is to prevent counterfeit documents being used to request and receive benefits, services or monetary payments from third parties who can now validate if the documents and the related data are accurate and authentic.
The existing standards and prior art for recording other life events records such as marriage or divorce do not include processes for using the intelligent Electronic Document Code included as part of the printing of a certified copy of a Birth Certificate to link and associate other events related to an individual such as marriage or death which can enable the owner of the life event data records to link and associate recordings of future life event with prior life events databases.
RFID circuit tags, also referred to herein as RFID circuits and RFID tags are presently manufactured and used to track a plethora of items and materials, from items of apparel to volumes of coal as stored by grade and quality. Alien Technology, mentioned as one exemplary manufacturer, provides a 915 MHz RFID tag with 64 bits of field programmable memory and 16 bits of CRC. Yet the prior art fails to suggest or anticipate the use of RFID tags as an intelligent Electronic Document Code for federal, state or local government to certify life event and other legal documents with a unique digital intelligent code or the ability for third parties to use an intelligent Electronic Document Code to be used to assure a document is not counterfeit. No such prior art is known where agencies responsible for collecting and storing birth registration records collect an authenticate DNA or other biometric data as part of an individual birth record and enables a birth document to include such digital identity data as hidden digital data using the intelligent attributes of RFID tags.
It is an optional object of the present invention to provide new business processes to store, collect, distribute, and maintain unique identity data such as DNA or other biometric information about an individuals as part of a life event record maintained and authenticated by a certifying agency or its agents. Such unique identity data can be made available as hidden data embedded in an RFID tag on life event documents such as birth certificates and used as a means to track and link other life event transactions.
The existing MIT Auto-ID center is developing processes and procedures for authenticating and tracking products using a unique product code available to third parties for use in supply chain management processes. The existing Electronic Product Code descriptions apply to products, not documents.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the management and use of a document by providing an Electronic Product Code to help identify and distinguish a particular original instance, instantiation or copy of a document.
It is an additional object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide to means to store or associate the Electronic Product Code and other information within an RFID device, or other suitable electronic device known in the art, wherein the RFID device is coupled or associated with the document. The document may be electronic, virtual, and/or in a hard copy form according to various preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention.